What would you choose in a war? There are a number of choices when one considers the three
most powerful sniper rifles in the US military. Which three should get that badge of honor?
These three rifles are a mix of brand-new and Cold War-era designs — but don't let
the age fool you. Despite one of the designs being nearly 60 years old,
it remains deadly on today's battlefields. Here's why.
Barrett M82
The Barrett M82 is a semi-automatic anti-material rifle, designed and developed by Barrett Firearms
Manufacturing company. This company was founded by Ronnie Barrett. This weapon is very popular.
It is used by armed forces and special operation units from nearly 60 countries.
As of 2017, this weapon is still in production.
In some countries, this anti-material rifle is used as a long-range anti-personnel sniper weapon.
The development of this powerful anti-material rifle began in the early 1980s.
Working versions were ready by 1982, hence the designation M82. It is worth noting that
the M82 is a company designation, rather than a US military designation. The Barrett Firearms
Manufacturing company developed and manufactured every part of this weapon on its own. In 1986,
an improved M82A1 version was introduced. The company successfully sold 100 rifles to
Swedish Armed Forces in 1989. From 1990-to 1991 US Marine Corps obtained around 125 of these rifles.
Soon followed orders from the US Army and Air Force. Today this anti-material rifle
is in service in nearly 60 countries and is used by military and law enforcement forces.
The Barrett M82 is primarily used as an anti-material weapon. This rifle was designed
to destroy sensitive enemy equipment at long distances, which traditionally would have required
rocket launchers, recoilless rifles, anti-tank missiles, mortars, or even artillery to engage.
These include parked aircraft, radar units, lightly-armored vehicles,
trucks, pillboxes, fuel silos, and various other important assets at long range.
It is also used for remote destruction of explosive ordnance.
Despite its anti-material origins, the Barrett M82 is also used as a long-range sniper rifle.
It can neutralize enemy snipers at standoff range. The rifle can be also used to hit enemy soldiers,
that are hiding behind cover and walls, as its powerful ammunition
can penetrate through bricks and concrete. These make the Barrett M82 ideal for raids,
special forces applications, harassment of enemy forces, and interdiction missions.
Even though Barrett M82 is not among the longest-range sniper rifles in the world,
a couple of long-range kills were made using this weapon. In 2004 American sniper
Brian Kremer made a record kill in Iraq from 2,300 meters using his M82A1 rifle.
In 2008 another American sniper Nicholas Ranstad made a kill in Afghanistan from 2,092 meters using
his M82A1 rifle. So far these two are the longest range kills made by the Barrett M82 series rifles.
However, this weapon is typically used out to a range of around 900-1 000 meters.
The Barrett M82 is a recoil-operated semi-automatic weapon.
It is chambered for powerful 12.7x99 mm (.50 BMG) ammunition.
This ammunition was originally developed for and used in Browning M2 heavy machine guns.
Sometimes the Barrett M82 is referred to as "Light Fifty" for its cartridge.
This weapon has a unique recoil reduction mechanism. The muzzle brake is said to
absorb 70% of the recoil. It reduces the forces acting on internal mechanisms and the shooter.
This weapon has a manual thumb-lever safety.
This weapon is fed from 10-round detachable magazines.
The Barrett M82 was often fitted with Leupold 10x magnification scope. This weapon can be also used
with night vision scopes. There is a flip-up iron sight for emergency use in case of scope damage.
Modern variants have a Picatinny-type scope rail on top of the receiver.
The M82 is fully capable of hitting a human-sized target consistently with the
first round fired at 1 000 m (and has done so on an almost daily basis in some instances),
and possibly even out to 2 000 m.
The original Barrett M82 has a built-in carrying handle, while the modern versions come with
a quick-detachable one. This rifle also has a detachable bipod. This weapon can be fitted with
a carrying sling. However, due to its size, the Barrett M82 is usually carried in special cases.
M40
The M40 is a bolt-action sniper rifle used by the United States Marine Corps. It has had four
variants—the M40, M40A1, M40A3, and M40A5. The M40 was introduced in 1966. The changeover to
the A1 model was completed in the 1970s, the A3 in the 2000s (decade), and the A5 in 2009.
Each M40 is built from a Remington 700 bolt-action rifle and is modified by USMC armorers at Marine
Corps Base Quantico, using components from a number of suppliers. New M40A5s are being built,
and A1s are upgraded to A3s and A5s as they rotate into the armory for service and repair.
The rifles have had many sub-variations in telescopic sights, and smaller user modifications.
The M40A5 incorporates a detachable magazine and a threaded barrel
to allow for the use of a sound suppressor or other muzzle device.
The original M40 was a military type-classified version of the Remington 700; it was factory-made
and had a one-piece wooden stock. The M40A1 and A3 switched to fiberglass stocks made by McMillan,
with new scopes. The trigger pull on both models (M40A1/A3) is 3 to 5 lb (1.4–2.3 kg).
In Marine Corps hands, however, the M40 is chambered in the ubiquitous
7.62×51 mm NATO cartridge and is accurate out to around 800 meters,
though a number of confirmed kills with the M40 have been achieved at much longer distances.
The design proved popular with the Army too, adopted in the mid-1980s
as the M24 Sniper Weapon System. The difference between the two rifles is
the Army's M24 uses a longer action that can accommodate longer, more powerful cartridges,
and with the appropriate barrel change, can fire them as well.
Both designs have been steadily upgraded since introduction, with improvements in stocks,
barrels, and portability incrementally incorporated into the platforms.
Barrett MRAD
The U.S. Army and Marine Corps are placing orders for a new sniper rifle designed to operate in
a variety of conditions against different types of targets and at different ranges.
New orders for the Barrett MRAD follow orders placed the previous year by U.S.
Special Operations Command. The new rifle will replace existing sniper
rifles and heavier anti-material rifles in the inventories of select U.S. ground forces.
The rifle is the Barrett MRAD or Multi-Role Adaptive Design rifle. MRAD is a bolt-action
rifle built into a heavy-duty metal chassis made of 7000-series aluminum. The rifle is fed
by a ten-round magazine and weighs between 13 and 14.5 pounds, not including optic,
bipod, and other accessories. The shoulder stock folds to the side when not in use,
shortening the weapon’s overall weight for vehicle carry and during parachute operations.
The big deal about the MRAD is the ability for the sniper to swap barrels, changing from one
caliber to another. Typically a high accuracy rifle requires a trained gunsmith to conduct
a barrel swap and generally speaking it is not possible to change from one caliber to another.
The MRAD on the other hand can change between barrel calibers with the use of a single tool.
The MRAD is chambered in the traditional sniper calibers of .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester
Magnum. However, it can also easily swap into.338 Lapua Magnum, .338 Norma Magnum, 6.5 Creedmoor,
.300 Norma, and .300 PRC. Many of these calibers offer significant performance increases at longer
ranges, offering flatter shooting trajectories to greater distances or more energy delivered
to the target. Some, like .308 Winchester, are good general-purpose rounds and useful in
urban environments where ranges are shorter and a reduced visual and acoustic signature are desired.
Others, like .338 Lapua Magnum, are powerful enough to shoot greater distances.
U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle achieved his famous 2,100-yard shot in 2008 in Sadr City
using a .338 Lapua Magnum chambered rifle, a shot impossible for a .308 Winchester rifle to make.
The MRAD’s modularity will allow U.S. snipers to carry multiple barrels and
types of ammunition on deployments, to ensure their weapons are optimized to do the job.